Tag: treats

Confessions of a Healthy Food Blogger

I share a fairly popular recipe for zucchini cheese – but I never make it myself, and always buy that super expensive vegan cheese from the supermarket.

I don’t like Brussel sprouts, I think they taste like farts. I live with three males (five including the cat and the dog) yes, I know what farts taste like.

My kids won’t eat frozen peas, in fact they won’t eat frozen mixed veggies either. Purely to make my life difficult. Except this one time I told my friend that my kids don’t eat peas and my 1 year old then stole and ate all the peas from her sons lunchbox.

Ashton, just Ashton. Ashton is incredibly fussy. He has the most ginormous list of foods he won’t eat, and bunch of finicky food preferences that I often comply with because I hate the moaning at the dinner table. If you want a winge-fest serve roast chicken (unless it’s a supermarket rotisserie basted in all sorts of non allergy friendly crap that he shouldn’t eat), or potatoes, especially mashed, roasted is marginally acceptable but only if they are cut into 1cm cubes, and crisp, but not too crisp, heaven forbid. Or try soup – if it’s soup, it’s inedible. Make sure you have you best gag face at the ready to make a performance at the table on soup night. Also if its marginally spicy, it may as well be poisonous. Someone save me from this kid he is a healthy food bloggers worst nightmare.

My kids won’t eat my homemade hummus, the two little ones just straight up won’t touch the stuff while Ashton will only eat “Lisa’s” hummus original flavour.

Sometimes I eat proper crisps for breakfast … and let the baby join me.

None of my kids eat raw carrot sticks, but I put them in their lunchboxes all the time because they look good in photos.

When I was a kid I used to steal meal mates crackers from the pantry and eat raro juice sachets like it was sherbet.

My mum buys the kids allergy friendly biscuits and chocolate and I eat it all myself.

Our children are allowed pudding once a week. But every night when they go to bed we eat chips and chocolate and mug cakes.

Most of my blog photos are taken on our bed covered in white sheets, or on the floor of our snail infested sunroom (best lighting in the house 😆)- I peg an upside down piece of scrap vinyl to a portable clothes rack to bounce the light off. Once I spilled a milkshake all through the bed during a photo shoot.

Sometimes I lie to the kids about what they are allergic to, so they don’t eat too much sugar, because I can’t handle the meltdowns.

Anyone else got anything to confess?!

Kayla

Chocolate & Raspberry Mousse Tart

Ingredients

Base
1 cup dates
1 cup nuts or seeds
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 T coconut oil
Pinch of salt
2 T cacao powder

18 – 20 cm baking tin, pie dish or 4 individual pie / tart dishes.

Choc mousse
3/4 c coconut cream
1 medjool date or 2-3 regular dates (soaked) Or 1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp cocoa or raw cacao
1 Tbsp gelatin + 1/4 c water

Raspberry mousse
1/2 c coconut cream
1 c raspberries (i just use frozen)
1 Tbsp Maple syrup
1 Tbsp gelatin + 1/4 c water

optional – additional raspberries for scattering through mouse and to garnish on top.

what to do

Base – put the nuts or seeds into a food processor and break them down until finely chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it forms a sticky crumb.

Line a dish, cake tin, pie dish, whatever you are using with baking paper and press the base into the tin. Set in the freezer while you make the mousse.

Choc mousse
add the gelatin to the water and leave to ‘bloom’ – chuck the rest of the ingredients in a blender if using dates – if not then just mix all together in a saucepan. bring to a gentle heat and add the gelatin mix, stir until dissolved and pour over the base. Put back into the freezer to set.

Raspberry mousse
While the choc mousse sets you can make this part. Add gelatin to water to bloom. Because i used frozen berries i start by putting the remaining ingredients in a saucepan to gently heat. Add galtin and stir until dissolved. Add all to blender and blend until smooth. Take the mostly set (doesnt have to be fully set) tart from the freezer. If using, scatter berries over the choc layer, then pour the raspberry mouse layer on top. Put back in the freezer, or the fridge to set.

This is best served around 24 hours after making, and stored in the fridge. Sadly, unlike my cheesecake recipe it doesn’t keep quite as well in the freezer so best to prepare the day before. It *can* freeze and be stored in freezer and eaten defrosted but it slightly changes the texture of the mousse, which personally i think is best eaten fresh. This has, however not stopped me from keeping some in the freezer to pull out for pudding over the course of a few weeks!

I had heaps left over from the base recipe (which is pretty much just my simple bliss ball mix) so I roll the extra into bliss balls. For my Christmas version I’ve also doubled the sweetener, because you know, Christmas (and that it will be served to guests who are used to partaking in regular sugar filled baking and treats, so they might be a bit more inclined to prefer it sweet!)

Kayla

Party Food! Real food, allergy friendly party treats (gluten, dairy, soy, nut, egg free)

The one stop for real food birthday party food inspiration – find links to the stuff i made here! Every single thing on the party table is free from dairy, egg, soy, gluten, wheat, nuts, peanuts, refined sugar and vegetable oils. Most of the food is made from good quality wholefoods ingredients, without feeling like the party food is missing. No sugar highs or post cake meltdowns after this party! And best of all, one very happy two year old, who for the first time in his life could enjoy all the party food!

Here i used my almond cranberry bliss ball recipe, but instead of almonds i used 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds to make them nut free.
this fruit creation was kindly put together by my Mum (i said she could do the fruit or some baking – good choice mother). she just used a bunch of fruit available at the supermarket, honeydew melon, pineapple, apple, grapes, strawberries and banana – a pretty impressive selection at this time of year. the the middle is half an orange (skin and all) where she stuck the skewers and threaded the fruit on. The kids loved grabbing a skewer of fruit to take to their plate.
The famous everything free chocolate cake, so delicious and fudgy. recipe here along with choc ganache and marshmallow icing.
Batman biscuits! Recipe courtesy of Mummy Made It – its the ‘healthy tiny teddy’ recipe cut with batman cookie cutter. Free from dairy, egg, soy, gluten, nut and refined sugar! Ive made this a few times and is my go to special occasion biscuit recipe.
This pancake recipe comes from Be Good Organics – it is free from gluten, dairy, soy, eggs and nuts! But not free from deliciousness! For the party i subbed the buckwheat flour for a standard gluten free flour mix, given that buckwheat can be an acquired taste to unsuspecting guests! It is also the recipe i use in our waffles. The icing is choc ganache left over from the cake and the sprinkles i found at countdown which claim to be naturally colored, perhaps I was scammed by the marketing but i was willing to forgo research on this one for the sake of the party.
this was one of my favourite platters of the party! A trio of hummus. I used our standard hummus recipe, then to one added a bit extra garlic, the other about 1/2 cup roasted carrot and a tsp curry powder and the third, two small cooked beetroot and a little honey. lots of cut up vege to dip and some of our seed crackers.
Home popped popcorn! and Proper Crisps – salted and smoked paprika flavour. I love proper crisps because they aren’t cooked in refined canola oil, and they taste so good! Best chips I’ve ever tasted, they have spoiled all other potato chips for me now! For the popcorn, i melt about 1 Tbsp coconut oil in a large pot, add 3 popcorn kernels and cover, as soon as they have all popped add half a cup of popcorn kernels, cover and keep on the heat until the first ones start to pop. then turn off the heat and take the pot off the shake it, then put back on the element (while its turned off but will still be hot) for 30 seconds, and repeat until all the popcorn is popped. add a knob of coconut oil or butter to the hot pot and let melt through the popcorn then turn out into a bowl and season to taste.

 

Jellies! i made three types of jellies about a week ahead and kept them in the freezer, then transferred to the fridge to defrost a day or two before the party. I made blueberry, strawberry and lime (sorry didn’t get a picture of those ones!) and peaches jellies. i got the heart, star, duck moulds from Kmart and the lego men from Aliexpress.
Chicken Nibbles – Bostocks organic free range chicken nibbles (my second favourite after their wings!) marinated in honey, garlic, ginger and coconut aminos. For ‘honey soy’ chicken nibbles. these were delicious!
Franks sausages – our go to for gluten free, preservative sausages, these were the chicken ones and lamb ones. They are so good, and the only sausage I’ve found with ingredients I’m happy to feed Felix. In the big drink dispenser there is soda water with frozen blueberries and orange slices, and in the glass bottle chilled water with lime wedges.

Kayla

Real Food Jelly Lollies

Ingredients

Strawberry & lime

1 cup strawberries (frozen is fine)
1/4 cup water x2
1 T lime juice

1 T maple syrup (optional)

2 T gelatin*

Blueberry

1 cup blueberries (Frozen is fine)
1/4 cup water x2
1 T maple syrup (optional)
2 T gelatin*

Peaches

1 cup peaches (i used tinned – rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup water x2
1 T maple syrup (optional)
2 T gelatin*

*(you can use up to 4 T gelatin for a firmer jelly / lolly like consistency)

what to do

Put the fruit, one lot of 1/4 cup water and sweetener for your your chosen flavour in a small pot and heat through.

While its heating add the gelatin to the other 1/4 cup water and stir. It will expand and soak up the water. Add this to the hot pot and stir through until dissolved.

Remove from the heat and blend the mixture in a blender, or with a handheld blender.

Pour into moulds, or line a tray with cling wrap and pour into the tray to cut into shapes when its set.

Set in the freezer for 20 – 60 mins depending on the size, or overnight. This part is essential for making sure the jellies come cleanly out of the moulds, especially if its a fiddly mould – like a lego man! you can store them in the freezer and defrost over night in the fridge before needed, or store in the fridge for a couple of days.

They should be able to handle being at room temperature for a couple hours, but are nicest when cold.

Kayla

Marshmallow Icing

This is what I poured over the top of Felix’s birthday cake in the weekend, to get the yellow drizzle topping.  You can find lots of party snack photos on our facebook page and i’ll add more recipes for everything throughout the coming week.

Ingredients

1 cup water
3 Tbsp gelatin (we use great lakes or vital proteins)
100g honey or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
Natural colour if you wish (i used 1/4 tsp turmeric, beetroot powder would probably work for pink – use your imagination im sure the natural colour options are endless.

what to do

put 1/2 the water in a large mixing bowl with the gelatin and leave to bloom while you prepare the honey.

In a saucepan heat the honey, water, vanilla, natural colour and salt until melted and combined.
Using an electric beater or stand mixer, start to beat the gelatin and water on low, while slowly pouring in the honey mix. Once combined turn the speed up to high and beat until it starts to become fluffy marshmallow texture, can take anywhere between 5 and 15 mins depending on the speed of your beater. Mine takes no longer than ten mins.

I’m not sure if i over beat it every time, but i find it sets too fast to ice a cake with, so i then melt it in the microwave ever so slightly (5 seconds at a time!) to make it a pour-able texture. Don’t worry if you melt it too much – it will firm back up on standing! But you need to make sure its loose enough or it won’t pour over the cake!

Depending on your climate it might set out of the fridge (its freezing at my house!) otherwise an hour or two in the fridge will firm it up.
Alternatively pour into a baking paper lined tin and cut into squares of marshmallow when set.

Kayla2 Comments

Choc Almond Cranberry Bliss Balls

Ingredients

1 c almonds
1 c dates
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 t vanilla extract
1 T coconut oil
1 T raw cacao or cocoa powder
1 c desiccated coconut

what to do

Put the almonds in the food processor and pulse until they are broken down. If you want almond chunks then leave them a bit chunky, if you want them all blended in then grind them to a powder. Add the rest of the ingredients and process on high until the dates are broken down and the mixture is clumping and sticky. Roll into balls and store in the fridge or freezer. I store them in the freezer and they get eaten straight from there.

Remember there is lots of dried fruit in these, even though they are wholefoods etc, they are still a ‘sometimes’ treat 🙂 they are especially good as an after dinner sweet or a high energy lunchbox treat.

Kayla

Chocolate Custard Tart

I made this chocolate custard tart as an Easter dessert – it combines the base from my cheesecake recipe with a chocolate custard I’ve been working on. There are lots of options to make it allergy friendly (except eggs – sorry!). Some of the options I’ve tried – but others, i haven’t tried and i’d love to hear if you give it a go!

Ingredients

Base:

1 cup dates
1 cup nuts (I used a mix of Brazil nuts, almonds and cashews) or seeds for nut free
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 T coconut oil
Pinch of salt
2 T cacao powder

Custard:

75g butter (You could try 50g coconut oil – but I’ve never tried this way)
1 1/3 cup milk or cream of choice (I use coconut cream)
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 cup sweetener (I use maple syrup)
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
4 T tapioca flour
2 T raw cacao or cocoa powder

what to do

Start by making the base – blend up all the ingredients in a food processor (start with the nuts, then add the rest), line a tart tin (or casserole dish – what ever is handy!) with baking paper and press the mix in evenly. Put it in the freezer to set while you make the custard.

To make the custard:

In a pot, melt the butter and add the cacao, stir to combine. Add the sweetener, milk and vanilla and bring to a gentle simmer.

In another bowl put the whole egg, 2 yolks and tapioca flour. Stir to combine.

Take a ladle of the hot milk mixture and add it to the eggs – this helps to bring the temperature up slowly so the eggs don’t scramble. Once its mixed, add another ladle of the hot mixture, stir to combine, then repeat.

Take the pot off the heat and add the egg mix into the pot and stir to combine. Turn the heat right down, put the pot back on and stir until it starts becoming thicker. When its ready it should heavily coat the back of a spoon. If you manage to split the custard (i often do this because i’m impatient and always have the heat too high or don’t temper the egg mix enough) then a stick blender through the mix can magic your custard back into smooth glorious life!

Once its thick, pour it into your base and set in the fridge for a couple hours, or, if you are impatient like me, in the freezer while you eat dinner.

Kayla
Dairy free easter chocolate

Easy Dairy Free Easter Chocolate

Finally, an Easter chocolate i am happy to feed both my boys! No refined sugar, preservatives, soy lecithin, dairy or gluten.

You can also find my hot cross bun recipes – paleo / grain free here and all allergen free here. I also have a collection of allergy friendly easter treat recipes that you might like.

If you try these don’t forget to tag me on Facebook or Instagram

Dairy free easter chocolate
Print Recipe

Dairy Free Easter Chocolate

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Raw cacao butter or coconut oil
  • ¼ cup Raw cacao or dutch cocoa powder Cocoa powder will do, but it's not as nice
  • ⅛ cup maple syrup or sweetener of choice Honey for SCD compliant
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Melt the cacao butter over a low heat in a saucepan.
  • Add the cacao, sweetener and vanilla and whisk thoroughly to combine everything.
  • Pour into molds, ice cube tray, or a container lined with baking paper.
  • Set in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

If you are using coconut oil, you will need to keep these in, and eat them straight from the fridge or freezer. If you used cocoa butter then they are fine stored at room temp, but i do find they start to form a powdery coat on them after a few days, i guess maybe from the lack of sugar and preservatives. So i keep them in the fridge. I usually double this mix and it makes an impressively big jar of chocolates!

Kayla

Paleo Waffles | Easy recipe only 4 Ingredients

These delicious paleo waffles only require 4 healthy ingredients and are so quick and simple to whip up. Thick, fluffy and perfect for weekend brunch! They freeze great and can be pulled on out busy mornings to reheat in the toaster. Also great to make ahead for lunchboxes too.

All you need is bananas, peanut butter, eggs and a smidge of coconut flour. That simple!

This makes about 3 – 4 waffles – depending on the size of your waffle iron, how much you spill from overfill and how many children you had helping to throw ingredients all over the bench (the struggle is real!).

Can you make them nut free?

Yes. You can omit the peanut butter and the waffles still turn out nice.

How do you grease a waffle iron without using non-stick oil spray?

Most non stick oil sprays contain hugely refined and processed vegetable oils. We try to avoid these types of oils as they are not good for our health. Though that sometimes comes at the cost of convenience! If you are looking for a way to grease a waffle iron with out non-stick spray you can use whatever healthy oil you like (olive oil, melted coconut oil, butter) melt it in a little ramekin and use a silicone pastry brush to brush the oil on.

We love these paleo waffles, but due to increasing food restrictions of my family, I had to develop another recipe too. If you are after a nut free, gluten free, dairy free, and egg free waffle, I totally have you covered on that, you can find that recipe here.

If you make any of my recipes don’t forget to tag me on Facebook or Instagram. And if you have any questions about the recipe, or anything else don’t hesitate to ask!

Print Recipe

Easy 4 Ingredient Paleo Waffles

These delicious paleo waffles only require 4 healthy ingredients and are so quick and simple to whip up. They freeze great and can then be pulled on out busy mornings to reheat in the toaster. Great for making ahead to go in lunchboxes too.
Prep Time10 mins
Course: Breakfast, celebration, Dessert, Main Course, Snack, treats
Cuisine: American
Keyword: coconut free, dairy free, easy recipe, gluten free, grain free, paleo, quick, soy free, waffle, waffles
Servings: 4 Waffles

Equipment

  • Waffle iron

Ingredients

  • 2 medium bananas
  • 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
  • 3 Tablespoons coconut flour
  • 3 Eggs

Instructions

  • Preheat your waffle iron following the manufacterers instructions.
  • Combine all the ingredients in your blender, and blend.
  • Let sit for 5 – 10 minutes to let the coconut flour do its thing.
  • Grease your waffle iron. Carefully pour into your waffle iron making sure not to overfill it.
  • Cook until waffles are golden brown and crisp. Top with your choice of toppings, our favourites are chia berry jam, berries (fresh or frozen) and whipped coconut cream.

Kayla

No Bake, Dairy Free Black Forest Cheesecake

This no-bake, gluten free and dairy free cheesecake is a sight to behold! It is deliciously decadent yet light and fresh. It’s also egg free, grain free, probably paleo and has options you can use if you are avoiding certain nuts.

When we first had to go dairy free, I never in a million years imagined I would enjoy something like a cheesecake, ever again! This no bake dairy free cheesecake is very special to me because it’s one of the very first recipes I lovingly developed, practiced and refined and shared on the blog, not long after I first started it.

The recipe below includes instructions to make a ‘Black Forest’ flavour – cherries and chocolate. Feel free to mix up the flavours. You could try:

Strawberries’ and cream

Use only strawberries for the berries – either fresh of frozen. Divide the mixture into two instead of 3 and add the strawberry puree as you would the berry puree in the instructions. This mix will also make a strawberry jelly for the top

Berry Cheesecake

Replace the cherries and strawberries with any berries you like – raspberries, boysenberries, blueberries – the possibilities are endless.

Make it Vegan

This is really easy to make vegan, since there is no gelatin in the actual cheesecake, you just need to replace the gelatin in the jelly 1:1 with agar, or even chia seeds. Though you would need to make sure it’s a thick chia jam so that it stayed in place. Also, use a vegan sweetener like maple syrup or rice malt syrup. Maple is my personal favourite, it gives it the perfect balance of texture and sweetener.

The Jelly on top

This is based on my healthy jelly lollies recipe, the gelatin I usually use is Great Lakes Gelatin in the red tin, which is the one that sets them firm. I’ve used it for years now and it still remains my favourite gelatin to work with.

Cashew nut free?

If you are avoiding cashew nuts, but have have other nuts, then you can replace the cashews in this recipe 1:1 for macadamia nuts. There are notes on how to do this at the bottom of the recipe.

Print Recipe

No Bake Dairy Free Black Forest Cheesecake

This no-bake, gluten free and dairy free, probably paleo cheesecake is a sight to behold! It is deliciously decadent yet light and fresh.
Prep Time40 mins
Course: celebration, Dessert, treats
Keyword: cheesecake, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, no bake, no bake cheesecake, paleo, treats

Equipment

  • Food Processor
  • 18 or 20cm Round spring-form cake tin

Ingredients

Base

  • 1 cup dates*
  • 1 cup nuts (I used a mix of Brazil nuts, almonds and cashews)
  • 1 cup dessicated coconut

Filling

  • 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 Tablespoons cacao powder**
  • 4 cups cashew nuts (soaked for 4 hours***)
  • 3/4 cup sweetner (I used half honey, half maple syrup)
  • Scant 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup + 60ml Coconut oil (melted)
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup cacao powder
  • 1.5 cups Berries strawberries, cherries, raspberries, boinsenberries or a mix (this will also be used for the jelly)

Jelly

  • Berry Puree from the base
  • 2 Tablespoons gelatin
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons sweetner I used coconut sugar

Instructions

Base:

  • Put the nuts and coconut in the food processor and blend into course crumbs.
  • Add the dates, salt and cacao and blend to combine into sticky crumbs that hold together when pressed.
  • Line the cake tin with baking paper. Press the mix firmly into the bottom of the tin.

Filling:

  • Put the cashews, lemon juice, vanilla, salt and sweetener into the food processor, blend until it's all super smooth and creamy.
  • Add the coconut oil and coconut milk and blend again to combine. Leave the mix in the processor, or tip out into a bowl if you will need it to blend the berries. (I just used my stick blender for the berries).
  • Blend the berries, (thawed first if frozen) into a purée.
  • Get two bowls, Pour 1/3 of the mixture into each bowl. Pour the ⅓ that's left in the processor into the cake tin, on top of the base, and return to the freezer.
  • In one bowl mix in the cacao powder, and in the other mix in 1/2 of the berry purée.
  • Pour the berry filling on top of the vanilla and swirl it round a little with a knife to create a marble effect. Return tin to the freezer. Let that layer set in the freezer while you make the jelly. Your chocolate mixture will still be in a bowl. Leave that there for now.

Jelly:

  • Put the other half of the berry purée, water and sweetener in a small pot and bring to the boil, then simmer on low. 'Bloom' the gelatin by mixing with 3 Tablespoons of cold water until it's expanded and thick, then add to the pot.
  • Stir for 2 minutes until dissolved, taste it to make sure it’s delicious. Add more berries, sweetner or whatever, if you need.

To finish:

  • Add the chocolate filling layer to the cake tin, spoon it over carefully and evenly so it doesn’t break through the other layers.
  • Set in the freezer for 30 mins to an hour while your jelly cools and you clean up the horrific mess in your kitchen.
  • Add the jelly layer to the top and return to the freezer for another 30 mins. Then you can either keep it in the fridge until it’s time to serve (a couple of days) or keep in the freezer and thaw out the day of serving.
  • If you are like us and usually stick to cheap ingredients and easy fuss free recipes you can now congratulate yourself on completing this monstrosity! (If you had a child helping in the kitchen and you kept your cool, you can also congratulate yourself on that too). I promise you will be impressed when you unfurl it from its tin, and marvel in its grandeur.
  • This is a monster of a cake, we had 8 guests for Christmas lunch and we didn’t even make it through half the cake. Serve it plain or dress it up with some fresh berries and whipped coconut cream, it looks magnificent either way!

Notes

*depending on your food processor you might need to soak your dates in boiling water first.
**no cacao? Use cocoa instead. What’s the difference? Cocoa has been processed at a high heat, stripping the product of some of its vitamins and minerals, whereas cacao is a raw product retaining important nutrients (like magnesium) and antioxidants.
*** cashew nut free? Macadamia nuts work in place of cashews, just soak them overnight first, also you can alter the type of nuts in the base to suit your needs. 
A slice of the No-bake dairy free Black Forest cheesecake.

Kayla